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4 Tips for Making Your Video Go Viral

A man looks at online video portal YouTube at an internet cafe in Yangon September 16, 2011. Myanmar lifted bans on prominent news websites on Thursday, including some run by critics of the army-dominated government, and unblocked YouTube, the latest ...
signs of possible reforms in one of Asia's most reclusive states. Bans were lifted on websites for several news organisations including Reuters, along with The Bangkok Post, Singapore Straits Times and other regional newspapers. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun (MYANMAR - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY MEDIA POLITICS)
(Reuters)

Millions of people got a chuckle from watching the ‘Twerking’ girl who caught on fire, the precious reaction from a 6-year-old girl when she learned she was headed to Disneyland and a Canadian man getting kicked in the head by a train conductor.

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But some viral video all-stars are laughing all the way to the bank.

“Often, people get paid by million clicks, which means, if you have 24 million views on a video, that person can be making anywhere from $120,000-$250,000,” says Eric Schiffer, CEO of DigitalMarketing.com. “That’s not bad considering the productions costs are so minimal.”

Technological advancements have made it easier (and more affordable) to shoot, edit and upload videos to share with the world in hopes of becoming the next YouTube sensation. But the lack of production barriers has also increased the competition.

“Heck, anyone with a smartphone can shoot and upload a video now,” says Jay Miletsky, CEO of Sequel Media Group. “Just 10 years ago you had to spend a ridiculous amount of money and time to produce a video, now you can pump out eight to 10 in just a day if you really wanted to.”

Online videos have experienced steady growth over the last few years, and advertisers are taking note. According to YouTube, owned by Google (GOOG), 100 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute and more than 6 billion hours of video are watched each month.

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“The fashion and consumer brands are the big players in advertising with online videos, that’s their audience and where they should be. This outlet is only going to grow as the younger generations grow up and have more money to spend,” says Schiffer.

For people looking to make their videos go viral and capitalize on a production, experts share the following tips:

Be Genuine…Even if it’s Not. Even if an event is staged, Schiffer stresses to make the video look impromptu.

“Making it look real, it’s that element of surprise people like and will get people to it pass along.”

Capture Lightening in a Bottle. Showcasing something that people are going to want to talk about and pass along is key to having a video go viral.

“Most of the time it’s conflict, that’s the root of all good stories,” says Schiffer. “You’ve got to be putting out something unique and different: man bites dog, man bites shark. Babies also do well, because who doesn’t love babies?”

Get it Out in Less than 30 Seconds. While some successful videos are choreographed to songs that go a couple minutes, Schiffer recommends keeping videos short to keep viewers’ attention.

Don’t Plug Yourself. For brands or people looking to sell their service and gain online notoriety, the key is not making it overly commercially, says Miletsky.

“Make it clear that you are an expert and should be taken seriously, but it’s not about you. If you start out saying something like ‘this is why you should work for me’ that is going to be a big turn off.’